Top o’ the World Player Profile

[JK]It is really fun to play and to put together different decks
with so many different ideas.

[POJO]What do you dislike about the PokeMon TCG?

[JK]I dislike how errors are not corrected, especially errors that
have a large effect on gameplay, such as Dark Vileplume’s weakness
and Grimer’s Poison Gas attack. I dislike how there is no pro tour
or some type of large tournament for top players.

[POJO]Do you find casual play or organized competition to be more
fun?Why?

[JK]Organized competition! I love competition, and since my first
tournament I knew I loved it. I take it very serious.

[POJO]Where do you usually play?

[JK]I play in Brain Snacks in Downers Grove, and I also play with
my

friends. I used to play in some other stores
but now I’m more focused on just DCI-sanctioned tournaments.

[POJO]How often do you participate in organized tournaments?

[JK]Although I would really like to participate in tournaments
more, I only participate in them every other week. I plan to start
doing weekly soon.

[POJO]What was you most thrilling victory?

[JK]Down 6-3 in prizes Alex looked like he had me beat. He slashed
another 30 damage to my only Pokémon in play, which was now a Scyther
with 60 damage.Things
looked hopeless, but then I drew an Oak.I oaked again and after getting rid of all his trainers with 3
Rocket’s Sneak Attacks.I
brought out an Electabuzz.I
got lucky with some coin flips, and I ended up knocking out 3 Pokémon
with my Electabuzz.Electabuzz
had 40 damage and on my turn and with the prizes tied I heard some
other people counting down the final seconds until the round would be
called a draw unless someone got a prize, “5... 4... 3...” so I
immediately gusted out his weak Scyther and Thunderpunched it for the
win.Alex told me it was
a cheap win but ended up doing the same thing at the next tournament!
Oh well.

[POJO]What was your most crushing defeat?

[JK]This was probably a fun game for my opponent.I was playing Dave Biank, who is currently ranked #9 in
Illinois.He was playing
his Gengar/Hitmonchan deck against my “Messed up Haymaker” which
was a low energy Haymaker with Nightly

Garbage Runs and 4 Rocket’s Sneak Attacks.His deck didn’t sound that great to me.I thought I could beat it but I lost my confidence after
drawing a Hitmonchan, an item finder, and 5 lightning energy in my
opening hand!He opened
it with Gastly which paralyzed my Hitmonchan with only Lightning
energy on it 3 times in a row.Before
it was knocked out I drew another Chan!

Same thing happened except with a Haunter so I
had all those lovely coin flips to do from Hypnosis.I ended up drawing ANOTHER Chan that I benched which didn’t
matter as his Haunter evolved and he cursed my Hitmonchan to knock it
out, then brought out Mewtwo and Psyburned my other Chan.Ouch.Oh

yes and Dave uses intimidating Japanese Energy
Removals in his deck instead of English ones... don’t ask me why.

[POJO]Who is your toughest competition?Why?

[JK]Alex! Alex and I normally have games where one of us makes a
surprising comeback, and Alex and I seem to be pretty much even, with
us both winning and losing half of our games to each other. Alex is
currently 3rd in Illinois and is a very strong player. Alex
and I are very competitive but he’s still one my best friends and
probably the funniest kid I’ve ever met!

[POJO]What is your favorite card?Why?

[JK]Oak! Professor Oak has been in every single one of my decks
I’ve made, even my stall deck!It’s a great card and the Pokémon TCG would be very
different without it! (Although imagining the Pokémon TCG without
Gust of Wind would be weirder.)

[POJO]What kind of deck to you dread having to play against?

[JK]Psychic! I hate those stupid Fossil Haunters....

[POJO]What does it mean to you to be ranked as one of the best
PokeMon TCG players in the world?

[JK]It really means a lot to me. I’ve been playing in tournaments
for about a year and I spend hours trying to put together good decks.
I never expected to be one of the best players in the world, and since
I haven’t been in that many DCI-sanctioned tournaments it surprises
me more.

[POJO]Do you play the PokeMon video game?

[JK]Yes, that’s what got me interested in the Pokémon TCG.The Pokémon video games are great games.

[POJO]Do you watch the PokeMon Animated Series?

[JK]I used to, but I don’t anymore.Now it seems like it’s just for little kids and the same
thing happens every episode! (Pikachu says Pika and Team Rocket blasts
off.) My favorite part of the Animated Series were the gym battles but
even those got stupid. (Such as Ash’s Victory against Koga’s
Golbat with his Charmander.)

[POJO]Do you have a collection of PokeMon toys?

[JK]I have a few things, like that obnoxious talking Pikachu. I
really don’t collect the toys though.

[POJO]Do you have a favorite character card?Favorite video game character?Favorite animated series character?

[JK]Scyther is a great card and looks awesome! My favorite video
game character is the sick captain cause he hurls in the garbage can!In the cartoon I like Charmander!

[POJO]Anything else you would like to add to this interview?

[JK]I think Pokémon should be taken more seriously by DCI.The first thing I bought from the Pokémon TCG was the 3 Theme
Decks: Brushfire, Overgrowth and Zap!I still remember reading the rulebook trying to figure out what
the heck to do.And another great thing about the Pokémon TCG is the smell
of new cards! Hehehe I get weird looks when I’m sniffing a Lockdown
theme deck! I don’t like the 20 minute time rule in DCI-sanctioned
tournaments, but I can’t think of a better way to keep the games
normal time so I guess I should just shut up!It means a lot to be on Pojo.com, it’s a great web-site, and
if anyone wants any help putting together a good deck, E-mail me at onettness@aol.com.To all players of the Pokémon TCG- don’t get frustrated by
repeated losses, it happens to everyone, and if you keep practicing,
you will get better.If
you like the Pokémon TCG you’ll probably like Magic: The Gathering
or chess.